Hi Gabrielle,

Yes, that part of the talk seemed to me the most important issue for me.

I like how he called those things little. I'm guessing he was referring to the various things of life, those we're unwilling to let go, and make room for the spiritual. Unfortunately, my biggest problem is that I very often don't see all that so small or insignificant. I just keep going from one small thing to the next. Every now and then, spirituality gets reduced to a short stop before two ordinary things in life, when it should be a lot more, all the time.

I guess having more experience about the consequences would help in understanding how small are all those pleasures and pain we get to feel in life. Without that, I'll never see the big picture properly. Sure, I might make a partial effort here and there because someone said there is a bad ending to an ordinary life, or because I had a tiny glimpse into that ending, but it doesn't feel like I'll be getting very far like that.

I think it is very true that spiritual things go beyond this ordinary, physical life. And when we think of how short this life is and how much time gets wasted on things that eventually pass, pleasant and unpleasant, it is easy to understand why it is important to work more on what is within, on what we get to keep no matter what. Unfortunately, it is even easier to forget all that. And I've found that the more I forget about it, the harder it gets to remember again.

Looking forward to reading what others have found,

Matija

Hi Gabrielle,

I also had the same feeling about the end of the talk. For me it's like someone throwing cold water on you, something that goes straight through to your core, giving you a jolt.

It makes me think about what my reasons are, what excuses I have for not giving the most I can to the work. The excuses are so dangerous because of their hidden nature, being excuses we naturally don't see them because we're not meant to, not unless we're carefully observing ourselves. So for me this is good for reflection, a push to look and see where I'm falling short and then go do something to change it.

Dara

Hi Gabrielle,

When I was listening to his last words I too felt like it was very powerful. I realized that I am full of excuses - from little things day to day, to big things.
The little excuses that keep me from doing a practice, or justfying actions that were taken - knowing deep down that it is just an excuse.
The excuses for the big things are things that keep me from being totally revolutionary - which is what I am aiming to be.
His last words were a cause for me to see ALL the little aspects in my life, like Dara said, where I am making excuses and could be putting more effort in.
It inspired me to step up my game :)

Much strength to all!!!!!

Katie

Matija, thanks for sharing your insights. I feel similar about the need to gain experience of the consequences in order to really comprehend the seriousness of all of this. I have faith in the teachings and what is said, but like you said, without that experience, it is difficult to remember the importance of it in each moment.

Before finding Gnosis, whenever I was going in the wrong direction in life, even when others would warn me that I needed to change, it was often experience that gave me that understanding. In particular, I often didn’t change until something bad happened to me or someone else. Eventually, I got the feeling that my luck was running out, like I was running out of chances to keep messing up and surviving the bad experiences.

I had a similar feeling about humanity at large from the Master’s talk. Even though I am much better off today than I was before finding Gnosis, I see the need to change how I do the work and the need to sacrifice of the little things, particularly from moment to moment. I don't want to wait for something horrible to happen this time before making the necessary changes. I will strive to gain a better understanding of the consequences through astral experiences though...are there other ways you had in mind for gaining experience of the consequences?

Dara, I know what you mean about the cold water. I also am familiar with the excuses – definitely something to reflect upon. Thank-you.

Katie, all the strength with your efforts to step up your game. I think that is what I need to do, too. Yes, I think that those little excuses are really important since they add up over the course of the day and can quickly become habit and our way of approaching the spiritual work.

I am going to continue trying to understand that part of the talk. It has helped me in a variety of ways. I had one really good experience in which I was able to completely break out of my attachments and egos for a few moments. It was a really strong experience of being in the moment. It helped me to see things in perspective and motivated me to want to keep pushing to get back to that state.

Also, after hearing Edith's talk the previous week, I've been striving to build a better relationship with the Divine - asking for guidance, help, and forgiveness more . This has helped me to get further into this investigation and in my spiritual work in general.

Thanks for your comments and for reading. I hope that we can all get the most out of the teachings to move forward in our work.

All the strength,

Gabrielle

Hi Gabrielle,

I can completely relate to what you're saying about experience and wanting to change. For example, I would have some school or health related problems, yet I refused to listen ot anyone's advice, which is actually quite unwise in such circumstances, until it really got serious. It is only at that point that I would really become concerned about my future. It is just amazing how low can we fall before actually doing something about our problems. However, with this, I don't think it would be wise to wait for the solemn moment of leaving this world to realise that I've wasted my time! ;-)

I'm also afraid, as you, of settling into that idea of being different, and just freezing at that point, when there I actually have an entire mess within.

Yes, I was primarily referring to the astral experiences. It would be great to see the Abyss, for example. However, what I usually turn to are the more immediate results and of my actions, the consequences of that occasional gossip, of that anger or fear, etc. Those things are right now more real to me than demons torturing condemned souls. I mean, if I think of the latter, and not having actual experience of it, it doesn't have that reality, it is just a thing that can occasionally make me afraid, but won't really change anything, you know? Also, I really think I should break the illusions I have about myself before trying to reach some extremely esoteric knowledge about how things work.

Finally, if I'm just thinking of how everything is to turn out at the, I'm being worried about my own end, instead of watching what I'm doing right now. And, what I'm doing right now is the most important thing, because it determines what will happen to me . As Judas puts it in the Flight of the Feathered Serpent: "Each man who aspires to this vigilance must make his own track and walk alone, attentive solely on the step of the instance, without being preoccupied neither with triumph nor defeat, nor uneasy about his earthly end."

So, for example, I look at how that affected others and how I feel drained and terrible after being angry, and so on, I get more understanding about why I must strive to change and not forget it, no matter what. When I get that, I can learn more about the states that caused my mistakes. Therefore, I try to look into my actions as often as possible, it can be quite surprising to see what actually motivated me in a certain occasion. Another excellent tool is the world of dreams, with all those "warning signs" relating to different subconscious states.

Again, seeing what will happen after death if we waste this life would be great, but I think that if I turn to my everyday mistakes more often, I can get very useful insight that will, perhaps, one day lead to knowing what really happens to us after death.

Take care,
Matija

That's interesting about the immediate results - it makes a lot of sense. That's also a great point about looking into your actions as often as possible. I find it is so easy to just acknowledge that I was 'out of awareness' and move on without going deeper into what it was that took me out of awareness and, as you mentioned, the consequences of giving control to the egos.

Thanks so much for sharing your insights.

All the strength,

Gabrielle